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Adventures in the Sin Trade II
|Season = 4 |Antagonist = Alti |Setting = Siberia Amazon Land of the Dead |In-Universe Date = Year 3 |Production # = V0608 |Filming Dates = |Original Air-Date = |Written By = |Story By = Rob Tapert & R.J. Stewart |Teleplay By = R.J. Stewart |Directed By = T.J. Scott |Order in Series = 70 of 134 |Order in Season = 2 of 22 |Order in Franchise= 174 of 304 |Prev Episode in Series = "Adventures in the Sin Trade" |Next Episode in Series = "A Family Affair" |Prev Episode in Franchise = "Descent" |Next Episode in Franchise = "No Way Out" |title cap image = }} Xena continues her search for Gabrielle and prepares the Northern Amazons to combat against Alti, who gives Xena a horrifying vision from the future. Summary Xena and the group of young Amazons build a banya in a camp. Later Xena and Otere relax in the steam in the banya to purge their minds and bodies. Xena explains to Otere that the Amazons used to use this time to purge their spirits, like the steam purges their bodies. Xena knows that they have to develop spiritual powers of their own if they want to beat Alti. Recalling one of the last times she was in a banya, Xena remembers battling Cyane, the Queen of the Amazons. They take the fight outside, but Xena has clearly met her match. Just as Cyane is about to kill Xena, Borias arrives and convinces her to release Xena in exchange for peace. As Xena finishes her story, she tells Otere that she is going to help her mold a new life. Later that night, Xena leads the Amazons through the dance of the spirits, which will free them from the prisons of their bodies. At the same time, Alti does her own macabre dance, which calls upon the spirits of those killed recently by Xena, including the Berserker. Alti promises to send them to Eternity if they kill Xena and the Amazons. Otherwise, they will be doomed to remain in the Land of the Dead. Xena and the Amazons collapse in a trance just as the evil spirits find them. Xena's spirit rises from her corporeal body and she begins to cajole the spirits out of the others. But the evil spirits are looming and they dive into the bodies of the Amazons. Suddenly, Otere and Yakut jump up and begin to fight Xena. Knowing that her friends are possessed, Xena defends herself, but holds back. She performs a chant and the spirits leave Otere and Yakut's bodies. Later that day, Xena realizes that Alti's stronghold is located at the Amazon Place of Rest because the evil Shamaness draws her powers from the Amazon dead. Xena tells her friends to set up camp for the night and to enclose it with a charm ring to protect them from Alti. Later that night while the others sleep, Xena sits wide awake, contemplating the impending battle, when a spider lands on her neck. As Xena collapses, the spider morphs into Gabrielle, who then morphs into Alti and proceeds to grab Xena by the throat. In reality, Xena's body gags in response to the hallucination and the spider continues to crawl on her face. As Alti shows the hallucinating Xena how she cursed her child, Xena forces herself to come out of the trance and crushes the spider. As Alti's spirit leaves, Xena falls into unconsciousness. When she comes to, Xena and her friends go to the Amazon Resting Place, where she confesses how she killed the Amazon leaders in her dark past, leaving the rest of the nation vulnerable to their enemies, the Centaurs. As Xena takes full responsibility for giving Alti her powers, she rushes the young Amazons, putting the "pinch" on every one of them. Suddenly, Xena puts the "pinch" on herself. As everyone lies dying, their spirits rise up out of their bodies and combine to form one collective Xena spirit. Alti and her evil spirits immediately burst through the forest and morph into one collective Alti spirit. As Xena and Alti begin to battle, the evil Shamaness continues to inflict psychological terror. Instead of reliving her past, Alti forces painful scenes of the future onto Xena. Just when it appears that Xena is beaten, a vision of Gabrielle from the future appears in Xena's mind -- Gabrielle is alive! Xena, with renewed strength, impales Alti on a sapling, releasing the curse on the Amazons. Xena's spirit returns to her body and she takes the "pinch" off of the others. Leaving Otere as the new leader of the Amazons, Xena gallops away with the knowledge that Gabrielle is alive. Disclaimer :Xena's search for Gabrielle was not harmed during the production of this motion picture. Background Information Behind the Scenes *Moments before Xena "awakes", music from "A Fistful of Dinars" plays. Key Events *This episode marks the first death of Alti. *This episode marks the first appearance of "Alti's gift" - Xena's Vision. This vision would act as a foreshadowing element to the finale of the season. *The new holy word of the Northern Amazons is "Love". *Otere becomes the leader of the Northern Amazons. *Yakut becomes the shamaness of the Northern Amazons. Goofs Other *Xena did not use her Chakram in this episode. *Even back in her Destroyer of Nations days, Xena was still defiant that she did not want to become an Amazon. *The curse, "never knew the love of either of his parents", that Alti places on Solan later comes true, when he grows up without his mother and never knew his father. *Clips used in this episode (in order of usage): **"A Good Day" **"Crusader" **"Crusader" **"A Good Day" **"The Ides of March" *Even though the storyline had not been concieved yet, this episode (and the previous one) unintentionally foreshadow the events of the Season Six: an event in Xena's past caused souls unable to cross-over to the other side, which results in Xena having to die to fight the being causing this and kill them. The only detail that changes in "A Friend in Need Part II" is if Xena revives herself, the souls of the dead will perish forever and henceforth she chose to remain dead. *The events that Xena relives in this episode take place between "The Debt I" & II and "Past Imperfect". Links and References Main Cast *Lucy Lawless as Xena *Renee O'Connor as Gabrielle (Cameo) Guest Stars *Marton Csokas as Borias *Claire Stansfield as Alti *Sheeri Rappaport as Otere *Vicky Pratt as Cyane *Erik Thomson as Hades *Kate Elliott as Yakut *Charlotte Saunders as Anokin References People *Xena *Alti *Borias *Yakut *Otere *Northern Amazons *Gabrielle (Cameo) *Solan (Mentioned) Places *Siberia *Amazon Land of the Dead Other Season Navigation de:Im Totenreich der Amazonen, Teil 2 Category:Episodes not set in Greece Category:XWP Season 4 episodes